Debt Office is prepared for extended Government guarantee programme for companies

Debt Office is prepared for extended Government guarantee programme for companies

The Swedish Government has proposed to extend the state credit guarantee scheme known as the Government guarantee programme for companies so that guarantees can be issued up to and including 30 June 2021. The programme is administered by the Swedish National Debt Office and is part of the measures to support trade and industry during the ongoing pandemic.

The period for being able to participate in the programme is currently set to expire on 31 December 2020.

“We are prepared for a continuation of the Government guarantee programme for companies. The economic development resulting from the coronavirus pandemic is still uncertain. Therefore, the need for state guarantees may remain for some time to come”, says Magnus Rystedt, Head of Guarantee and Financing at the Debt Office.

The Government guarantee programme for companies primarily caters to small and medium-sized enterprises, and the loans are provided through the credit institutions’ normal credit process. The Government proposes that the guarantee framework be reduced by half in 2021, from SEK 100 billion to SEK 50 billion. Since the central government bears 70 per cent of the risk, if fully utilised the state guarantees can amount to SEK 71.4 billion. On 27 November, lending under the programme reached SEK 2.4 billion divided among 684 loans.

Statistics for the Government guarantee programme for companies on 30 October

The most recent statistics on the distribution by sector, geography and size are from week 44 (30 October). The statistics show that the state guarantees have mainly been granted to companies within the hotel and restaurant industry, followed by companies in the trade sector. Just over 50 per cent of the companies are in Stockholm and Region Västra Götaland, and 92 per cent of them have less than 50 employees. So-called microenterprises – companies with less than 10 employees – account for 63 per cent of the number of loans granted under the programme.

The credit institutions’ lending with a state guarantee to companies is distributed among different sectors as shown in the table below:

Industry/sector	Number in %
Hotel and restaurant	29%
Trade	19%
Transport	10%
Manufacturing	8%
Within legal, finance, or technology	7%
Rental, travel services and other support services	6%
Culture, entertainment and recreation	5%
Other	16%
TOTAL	100%

Lending by geographic distribution is illustrated in the table below:

Location of domicile	Number in %
Stockholm	36%
Västra Götaland	21%
Skåne	8%
Jönköping	4%
Värmland	4%
Dalarna	4%
Jämtland	3%
Norrbotten	3%
Other	18%
TOTAL	100%

Distribution by size of the enterprises that have loans under the Government guarantee for companies is presented in the table below:

Size of company	Number in %
Micro-enterprises (0-9 employees)	63%
Small enterprises(10-49 employees)	29%
Medium-sized enterprises (50-249 employees)	7%
Large enterprises (≥ 250 employees)	1%
TOTAL	100%

More information about the guarantee programme here (in Swedish). 

Contact

Debt Office press telephone: +46 8 613 47 01